


The green eyed monster

by liionne



Category: Star Trek: Alternate Original Series (Movies)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-08-26
Updated: 2013-08-26
Packaged: 2017-12-24 17:36:01
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,140
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/942727
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/liionne/pseuds/liionne
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Bones has friends other than Jim, and Jim gets jealous and jumps to conclusions.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The green eyed monster

_**5\. Nyota Uhura** _

Jim was pretty sure he was the only friend Leonard McCoy, M.D had. Not that he cared, and not that Bones cared either, apparently. They worked pretty well together, even if it was only the end of the first semester - Jim went to Bones when he'd been totally beaten up by some meathead twice his size at a bar, and Bones went to Jim when he had a flight sim that he just couldn't do because he was going to throw up all over the console. It was an easy friendship, where neither of them asked questions or acknowledged the past.

Which was maybe why Jim was a little miffed when he found Bones and Uhura - who he might have taken to stalking and hacking to try to find out her first name, but that was beside the point - sat at the opposite side of the canteen to him, grinning over something one of them had said and looking like they were having a brilliant time.

How dare Bones have friends other than him. And how dare he share that gorgeous smile with them.

Bones saw him stood at the other end of the canteen with his tray, and waved him over. Jim deliberatly swept his gaze over him, and went to sit with Gary Mitchell and Gaila instead.

Gaila and Gary didn't require his input into their conversation, so Jim was free to keep glancing over at Bones and Uhura every few seconds (he told himself it was minutes, but two seconds _really_ didn't constitute a minute) and scowling. He was almost caught once by Bones, who was now frowning into his meal, pushing it absently around his plate. Uhura's expression had softened, and she spoke with her face close to his, looking down at the table as she spoke. She looked up at him, and he looked at her, and Jim was almost sickened when he gave her a smile.

There was definitely something more to friendship right there.

Maybe they were dating.

How rude.

Bones should've told him. Jim would've been happy for him. Or at least he thought he might, but this pain in his chest was a little hard to think around.

Maybe he could get Bones to tell him her first name. Maybe he could try to forget about it and avoid the subject so that whatever heart problem he was having would go away.

_**4\. Christine Chapel** _

Back on earth after the Nero incident, Jim was basking in the glory of captaincy. Two days later and Jim was still basking in the peachy glow of glory, but now he had noticed his sudden lack of Bones. The first day they'd landed had been the official ceremony and the party that followed, so he didn't see him much then. The day after that and he was horrifically hung over and assumed that Bones was too, so he didn't comm him. But on the third day he couldn't see any reason why Bones didn't come over after his shift - so Jim went to him.

Bones had his own apartment just a little way off campus, still belonging to Starfleet Acamdey of course, but built for those who already had a career. Jim knew the code to the door so he let himself in, but he almost wished he hadn't.

It was dark in the apartment except for the light emanating from a holovid, and Jim could just see Bones, sat at the end of the sofa that Jim knew was his and his alone. "Bones-" Jim hissed, thinking there might be a need for quiet.

Bones brought a finger to his lips, and as Jim crouched behind him he saw her.

Christine Chapel, the best nurse in the 'Fleet according to Bones, was curled up on his sofa, her head in his lap as she dozed lightly. He stroked her hair even as she slept, like a cat you'd all but forgotten. Jim swallowed around the lump in his throat. They looked pretty happy.

"Don't wake Chris." Bones whispered.

He looked as if he were about to say something else, but Jim stood. He hated to have intruded on what was so obviously a precious moment. How had he not seen it before? They worked together so closely, they were always together, and Christine was the only person Bones trusted to see to Jim if he were hurt.

It was no surprise that they were together.

But it still hurt.

"I'll leave you to it." Jim murmured, biting his bottom lip as he left. "See you later, Bones."

_**3\. Pavel Chekov** _

After Khan, after losing half a crew and being put almost completely out of his comfort zone, poor Pavel Chekov suffered panic attacks. Panic attacks caused by the nightmares that came at night, and panic attacks caused by the memories that came during the day.

Jim wanted to be there for him, he really did. The poor kid had worked so damn hard, saved his life with his own bare hands, but he was powerless to do anything.

Bones, however, was not. Not only was he qualified to look after someone during a panic attack but he'd suffered through so many of them himself that he was almost an expert. Jim should've expected that he'd help Chekov through it, but he hadn't expected it to look so... _intimate_.

He used the over-ride code to get into Bones' quarters, like he always did, but he noticed that the lights were only on 20% and that everything was eerily quiet. Even when Bones was sleeping things weren't quiet (he could snore so loud it sounded as if he were gargling gravel) but there was nothing but silence in the room.

Silence broken by hushed whispers and quick, shallow breathing.

Jim saw it, then - Chekov tucked down in the gap between the end of Bones' bed and the wall, his knees brought up to his chest and a scared look in his eyes as he hyperventilated. Bones was stood in front of him, strong hands on his shoulders, his face level with Chekov's. He crouched over him, his entire stance screaming protection, and Jim, once again, wondered how the hell he hadn't seen it before.

Maybe because they weren't so obvious. Which was understandble with that age gap and Starfleet regulations but really, Jim'd thought one of them might've slipped up eventually.

Neither of them looked up as Jim entered, and they still didn't look at him now. Jim wanted to leave but he couldn't; he felt cemented in place. He watched as Chekov's breathing evened and his legs slowly straightened out as he calmed down. Bones kept talking to him in hushed tones, helping him through it.

And then Chekov surged forward, wrapping skinny arms around Bones middle and hugging him tight, murmuring things in Russian that Jim wasn't sure if Bones understood. He didn't know if he could leave until Bones wrapped his arms around him tighter than he ever did with anyone, anyone save Jim.

He turned and left, detouring to his own quarters rather than the bridge until he could be sure he wasn't having a heart attack.

_**2\. Montogmery Scott** _

It was a Bridge crew night out, which of course should have meant that Bones wasn't invited, yet he was there, sat at the bar with Scotty whilst they waited for everyone else to show up. Bones was on the bridge enough to fool anyone into thinking he was part of the crew anyways, and he'd saved every single member of the bridge crew at least once during their last couple of missions, so they all owed him one.

Jim had been meaning to go to the bar with Bones rather than meeting him there, but he couldn't kick this leggy brunette girl out of his apartment, making him late. Not too late, apparently, as Bones and Scotty were the first people there.

They were laughing, both of them nursing a glass of rusty-orange liquid (although he knew for a fact that Bones would be drinking bourbon and Scotty would be drinking scotch) and laughing as if they'd never done so before.

Jim stood in the doorway, watching as Scotty explained something with wild, large gestures, almost knocking over both their glasses and causing Bones to laugh. Bones never laughed like that, Jim knew it. Bones leaned toward him as Scotty spoke, a bemused smile on his lips as he watched him, amusement in his eyes. Scotty was grinning, and he slung an arm around Bones' shoulders as they drank.

And maybe he was jumping to conclusions.

But then he thought about how awfully close Bones and Scotty were.

And then he scowled to himself.

He turned around and left the bar; if Bones and Scotty were going to be that open about things, he wasn't going to watch. He sent him a text saying how he couldn't make it, and then called that brunette girl again. Maybe she'd like a round two.

_**1\. Carol Marcus** _

Jim still couldn't look Carol in the eye, not even after working together for the first two months of their five year mission. He just couldn't forget Bones god awful flirting, the flirting that totally should have been directed at him or left out entirely. Still, Carol was a nice girl.

A nice girl who was suspiciously close to his CMO.

She sat with him at lunch, whether Jim was there or not. She spent a fair part of her free time in med bay, and he spent a fair bit of his spare time in the weapons bay, and Carol was seemingly always over in his quarters. They'd been close since Jim had died (he said it without hesitation now, but it still made Bones wince) and Jim couldn't fathom out why - if he were Carol that horrific flirting would've been enough to keep him away for the next ten years.

But he left them to it. If Bones wanted to be happy with Carol then he could be.

Jim just wished that Bones would want to be happy with him.

_**+1 Jim Kirk** _

"You could have anyone on this ship and you know it." Jim said, as Bones set about healing the burns he'd gotten down in engineering. It was all a wrong hand placement that'd led to his whole arm getting burnt, but it didn't matter. Bones was going to make it better.

"Shut the hell up and let me work, Jim." Bones scowled.

Jim rolled his eyes. "You can work and listen at the same time. You're the best of the best. Which leads us back to: you could have anyone on this ship and you know it."

"Damn it Jim." Bones muttered, scowling pointedly at him. "Why does it matter so much to you? Is your own love life getting so damn boring you have to poke your nose into mine?"

"I'm just making sure that you're aware of it." Jim shrugged. "You could date any member of the crew, they all throw themselves at you. Seriously."

"And what if I don't want to date just anyone?" Bones snapped, and then his eyes widened as if he'd realised what he'd said. He kept his eyes on Jim's hand as he smothered it in balm and wrapped it in a bandage.

"What?" Jim asked, blinking a few times.

"Nothin'." He grumbled. "Forget it."

"What d'you mean, Bones? Who is it?" He grinned a little, leaning towards him. The smile was forced, and Bones must have known it, especially if it looked as fake as it felt. He wanted to be happy for Bones. He wanted Bones to be happy. He just wished it was with him.

"I said forget, it Jim." He scowled.

"Aw c'mon Bones." He said, jabbing him gently in the arm with his good hand. "You can tell me."

"I really can't." Bones muttered.

"C'moooon Bones-"

"It's you, damn it! It always been you! Ever since that damn shuttle out of Iowa it's been you. If my unwavering loyalty wasn't hint enough to you. God damn it!" he huffed out a breath, and looked away from Jim, who was gaping. "There, you're done. You can go."

He turned away, taking long strides away from the bed to stand at the desk in the corner, shuffling papers around as a distraction, no doubt. Jim still gaped, having totally forgotten about his burns, unable to believe what he was hearing. And then before he knew it he was walking forward, wrapping his arms around Bones' middle and resting his cheek against his back.

"It's always been you too, Bones." He murmured, feeling Bones stiffen beneath his grasp before softening, leaning into him a little. He put his hands over Jim's, and sighed a little. Jim smiled. "Always."


End file.
